A heavily armed man entered a movie theater in suburban Denver early Friday and opened fire, killing at least 14 people and injuring 50 others.
The incident, which took place about 12:30 a.m. at the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colo., occurred during midnight screenings of the new Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises."
"This is a horrific event," Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said during a news conference.
The gunman, who was wearing a gas mask, reportedly set off a smoke or tear gas bomb then walked up to the front of the screen in one of the theaters and opened fire.
When the movie patrons realized the attack was real and not part of the movie, they began to flee. The film continued to play on the screen as bloodied customers took refuge outside. According to witnesses on the scene, some of the bullets also went through the walls of an adjacent theater, injuring patrons there.
Soon after receiving a flood of 911 calls, more than 250 police officers, ambulance and emergency crews were called to the scene.
There's about 100 FBI agents on the scene assisting with investigation, according to the local special agent in charge. Once apprehended the gunman told authorities that there were explosives in his North Aurora residence. Investigators rushed to the apartment complex, which was quickly evacuated and is now under lockdown. A senior official who is monitoring the situation in Washington said that early guidance based on the early snapshot of this man's background indicated that this act does not appear to be linked to radical terrorism or anything related to Islamic terrorism.
In a statement, President Obama said, "Michelle and I are shocked and saddened by the horrific and tragic shooting in Colorado. Federal and local law enforcement are still responding, and my administration will do everything that we can to support the people of Aurora in this extraordinarily difficult time. We are committed to bringing whoever was responsible to justice, ensuring the safety of our people, and caring for those who have been wounded."
Investigators confirmed that explosives were found. It is unclear if they were scheduled to detonate or if it was part of a stockpile.